By Julie Buxbaum
Release Date: April 5, 2016
Source: Publisher
Julie Buxbaum mixes comedy and tragedy, love and loss, pain and elation, in her debut YA novel whose characters will come to feel like friends. Tell Me Three Things will appeal to fans of Rainbow Rowell, Jennifer Niven, and E. Lockhart.
Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?
It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.
In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?
Looking at this cover, I knew that I had to read it. Not only is it gorgeous, but it is also extremely nostalgic for me because my mom actually used to make me and my siblings heart shaped waffles. How could I resist, especially with the romance it promised inside?
Ever since her mom died, Jessie has been trying to feel normal again. That's kind of hard, though, when her dad gets remarried and moves them from Chicago to California where everything is super glam and preppy. Jessie is definitely not fitting in and is missing home and her best friend Scarlett more and more. So when a mysterious email shows up from a "friend" who wants to help her get the hang of her new life, Jessie doesn't know if it's just another mean girl playing a joke on her. The more Jessie and her stranger talk, though, the more she starts to like him. Jessie wants to meet her secret helper, but is he ready to really put himself out there?
First, I loved the premise of this book. It kind of reminded me of You've Got Mail and I loved how attached Jessie got to a guy she didn't even know. Their conversations were so adorable and I loved how they started to tell each other three things during each conversation. So cute! Jessie definitely had a very rough life at the beginning of the novel, so I was so happy when she finally had someone who wanted to help her out instead of make fun of her, even if she didn't know his true identify.
There were so many awesome characters in this book that really started to shine as Jessie became more accepting of her life in California. Dri was awesome and the perfect person for Jessie to become friends with. As for Ethan, he was definitely a mystery and I liked how he started to open up more to Jessie thanks to their English project (yay, English!). I loved Theo, who was Jessie's flamboyant stepbrother, and wish that we got more of him throughout the entire novel and not just near the end. With all of these great people, Jessie started to realize that she really wasn't alone when she started to try and like her new life and get to know the people around her. The identify of her secret emailer was kind of obvious by the end, but I still thought it was adorable and loved Jessie's journey to uncovering who it really was.
While I don't think I would say this book is as good as something by Rainbow Rowell, I still think that this was an emotional, yet still adorable YA contemporary that deals with love, loss, and learning to live again. As the first attempt at a YA novel, I definitely think Julie Buxbaum has got it down!
Ever since her mom died, Jessie has been trying to feel normal again. That's kind of hard, though, when her dad gets remarried and moves them from Chicago to California where everything is super glam and preppy. Jessie is definitely not fitting in and is missing home and her best friend Scarlett more and more. So when a mysterious email shows up from a "friend" who wants to help her get the hang of her new life, Jessie doesn't know if it's just another mean girl playing a joke on her. The more Jessie and her stranger talk, though, the more she starts to like him. Jessie wants to meet her secret helper, but is he ready to really put himself out there?
First, I loved the premise of this book. It kind of reminded me of You've Got Mail and I loved how attached Jessie got to a guy she didn't even know. Their conversations were so adorable and I loved how they started to tell each other three things during each conversation. So cute! Jessie definitely had a very rough life at the beginning of the novel, so I was so happy when she finally had someone who wanted to help her out instead of make fun of her, even if she didn't know his true identify.
There were so many awesome characters in this book that really started to shine as Jessie became more accepting of her life in California. Dri was awesome and the perfect person for Jessie to become friends with. As for Ethan, he was definitely a mystery and I liked how he started to open up more to Jessie thanks to their English project (yay, English!). I loved Theo, who was Jessie's flamboyant stepbrother, and wish that we got more of him throughout the entire novel and not just near the end. With all of these great people, Jessie started to realize that she really wasn't alone when she started to try and like her new life and get to know the people around her. The identify of her secret emailer was kind of obvious by the end, but I still thought it was adorable and loved Jessie's journey to uncovering who it really was.
While I don't think I would say this book is as good as something by Rainbow Rowell, I still think that this was an emotional, yet still adorable YA contemporary that deals with love, loss, and learning to live again. As the first attempt at a YA novel, I definitely think Julie Buxbaum has got it down!
I'm really looking forward to this one myself. I think I became a fan of YA contemporary a few years ago. Glad that you love this!
ReplyDeleteI love this cover! It's so cute. I'm a sucker for books like this, so I'm definitely going to have to check it out when it comes out. I'm glad you liked the book :)
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